Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is equally impressive as it is trite. This next-gen version of last year’s reboot is impressively gorgeous and a hell of a lot of fun. Graphical updates can’t change a game’s story, however, and that’s where Tomb Raider struggles.

Tomb Raider stars the famous Lara Croft but in a far different light. This is Lara’s beginning—her transformation into a dual pistol toting badass. The game begins with an innocent and frightened Lara trying to survive on the dangerous island of Yamatai after a violent boat crash. Now, Lara must reunite with her friends and crew on an island inhabited by religious fanatics and Russian mercenaries.

Ancient societies

First, let’s talk about the obvious. This game is gorgeous. The graphical update on the next-gen iteration shows off what these new systems can do. Yamatai is a beautiful conglomerate of green forests, bleak ship graveyards, and vast mountain ranges. Each of Yamatai’s environments invokes a sense of wonder, placidity, or even fear. Just as beautiful as the island are the character designs. Lara’s design ditches the over the top “womanliness” of previous Tomb Raider entries in favor of a more realistic body and a modest getup. Facial animations are top-notch and portray the powerful and human emotions that Lara must deal with throughout her adventure. The main characters are all distinct in design; unfortunately, enemies consist of only three or four basic skins.

Unbelievably gorgeous . . . Oh and the environments are nice too.

The story of Lara Crofts reboot is where the game is seriously lacking. The narrative begins strong; a shipwrecked crew of archaeologists searches for the remnants of a mystic and mysterious ancient society while also trying to survive on an island filled with cult members who worship the spirit of the Storm Queen, the ruler of Yamatai’s ancient society. The most promising narrative device had to be Lara’s loss of innocence, but this concept is disappointingly dropped after the first two hours or so, only to be revisited in the last few moments of the game. The story has the same Indiana Jones plot points seen in games like Uncharted, but does nothing new with them, even going so far as to add a poorly handled supernatural twist. I found myself guessing story elements before they were even revealed and then wondering “wait a minute, Lara. You didn’t already know that?” Possibly the most disappointing aspect of the game’s story was the characters. Amongst the two characters whom I felt were strong, Lara and her father-figure Roth, were stereotypical villains and supporting characters that caused me to groan any time they talked. The “I’m big but lovable” guy, the “I’m a bitch because I’m a bitch” girl, and the “I’m so ridiculously helpless” damsel are only a few of the shallow characters that accompany Lara on her journey. Antagonizing this group is one of the most one-dimensional and trite villains I’ve seen in a long time, equal to the likes of Lazaravich in Uncharted 2. Thankfully, the lack of depth in these characters is not the fault of the voice acting, which I found to be well rehearsed and natural.

Lara and her mentor, Roth.

Since the game truly is an action movie, however, the story is easily forgiven for the content in between the cut scenes. The game is undoubtedly fun. Mowing down hundreds of enemies indiscriminately remains the franchise’s focus and it’s never been done better. Lara has four ranged weapons: a bow, an assault rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol. Every weapon feels unique and powerful even on the hardest difficulty, and I never found myself using all four equally; not because they were unbalanced, but simply out of preference. Aiming is quick and responsive, and enemy A.I. will often try to flank you or force you out of cover. Stealth usually helps you finish off a few enemies before approaching head on, but it is not a viable play style long-term with enemies often being alerted to your presence for seemingly no reason. The game’s platform sections, though aesthetically similar to Uncharted, felt far more hand-holding, reminiscent of games like Assassin’s Creed in which all you have to do is move the control stick to traverse. Unfortunately, the game is littered with quick time events, and these moments usually fail to lead to anything rewarding like in God of War or Far Cry 3.

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition uses some of the best parts of the third-person action adventure genre, but fails to innovate from the Indiana Jones story formula. The story feels like wasted potential in many ways with trite plot points and the abandonment of a tale of lost innocence. Thankfully, shooting up cult members and Russians is just as fun as it has always been and the graphics are leaps and bounds above anything currently on the market.